


The Benefits of Midterm Projects

by fooooof234



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: College AU, M/M, Mortal AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 12:02:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8577814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fooooof234/pseuds/fooooof234
Summary: Will's got a crush on a kid in his english class, says some dumb things, but everything gets sorted out in the end





	

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr prompt: “Okay for a prompt could you have Will and Nico in college and they have a class together but they are really shy and the only time they talk to each other is when they are arguing but then the teacher puts them together for a group project and they end up having to stay overnight at the other one’s dorm because it’s a big project? I’m not sure if that made any sense but yeah. Thanks in advance! I love your stories!”

Will knew that when he chose to go to a college in New York that he would eventually have to deal with snow. He may be from Texas, and had never experienced a single flake of the stuff in his entire life, but figured he could handle it when the time came. What he could  _not_  handle, however, was snow in October.

“I thought this stuff didn’t show up until December!” he angrily exclaimed to his friend Lou Ellen as they trudged to their afternoon english class. “It’s getting in my shoes!”

Lou Ellen just shook her head, as if she were dealing with a small child. “Not my fault you decided to wear sneakers instead of boots.”

Grumbling under his breath, Will continued to sulk until they reached their building. Once inside, he stamped his shoes unnecessarily hard on the floor in order to de-snow them as best her could.

Lou Ellen rolled her eyes and grabbed Will’s sleeve, dragging him with her to their classroom. Most of the other students were already in there, including the current object of Will’s affection, causing his heart to skip a beat.

Nico di Angelo was sitting in his usual seat by the window, the swirling snow outside making the perfect backdrop for the beautiful boy. Hunching over his desk, he appeared to be reading the assigned text for today’s lesson -- probably not for the first time, he was too smart for that.

“Stop drooling, lover boy, you look like an idiot.”

Lou Ellen’s comment snapped him out of his thoughts, and Will could feel himself starting to blush. He hurriedly took his seat, getting out his materials and doing his best to clear his mind of his previous distraction.

Class was, as usual, boring as hell. Being a pre-med student, Will was only taking British Literature as one of his english requirements. He had figured that any english class would be as boring as the next, but Will couldn’t imagine any course being worse than this one.

But there was a silver lining -- Nico di Angelo. Will had purposefully chosen a seat that was behind him, so when class became particularly dull, he could stare at him to his heart’s content. The way his lips pursed when he was thinking hard, the elegant movement of his hand and fingers when he was writing, how he occasionally nibbled on the end of his pen.

While not paying attention to his professor, Will made a decision; he was finally going to talk to Nico. Today, after class.

This thought on his mind, Will started jiggling his leg up and down in anticipation. When the professor went to dismiss them, he carelessly shoved his things into his bag and went to wait by the door. Lou Ellen gave him a weird look as she walked by, but seemed to have guessed his intentions for she left him to it.

Attempting casualty, Will leaned against the wall as the rest of the class filed out, smiling and nodding at his peers. Nico was the last to exit the room, and Will fell into step beside him.

“Hey,” said Will, heart pounding faster than it should.

Nico gave him a suspicious side glance before muttering back, “Hello.”

An awkward silence ensued as the two boys continued walking down the hall.  _C’mon, Will, you made it this far, say something_. “Thought that class would never end.”

Another side glance. “What do you mean by that?” asked Nico as he pushed through the doors to the cold outside.

“It’s just so  _dull_ , ya know?” Will commented as slipped his hands into his pockets and hunched his body against the wind. “I mean, honestly, what’s the point of learning all this old stuff anyway?”

Nico stopped walking and turned to fully face Will, snow swirling around his face as he said, “We learn it so we can better understand humanity. Literature gives us insight into what life was like in the past and helps us to know how we can improve life today.” His usually calm features were etched with an underlying anger.

_Well shit. Did you even think before you opened your big mouth, Will?_

“Well, uh-” he started, but Nico interrupted him.

“It’s not my fault if you’re not smart enough to realize that.”

Will felt as if he had just been slapped. “Did you just call me stupid?”

Nico shrugged, infuriatingly nonchalant, replying, “Maybe if you understood the power of words better you would know.”

“And maybe if you weren’t such an ass-” Will started to retaliate, but stopped when he realized that he didn’t know what he was saying and that Nico had turned from him and was beginning to intently walk away from him.

Will was pissed. What a jerk!  _I can’t believe I liked him_. Huffing, he started walking in the direction of his dorm room, nearly slipping on a patch snow.  _And I can’t believe I go to college in a state where it snows_.

* * *

It still hadn’t stopped snowing when Will had his British Literature class again, and he was in a sour mood as he entered the classroom. Not only was the weather terrible, there wasn’t even anything positive about the course anymore since he had discovered that Nico was a grade A asshole.

“Did you ever consider that he was just upset that you bashed a subject he clearly likes?” Lou Ellen had told him when he had explained the entire debacle while at dinner yesterday.

Will had sputtered at that. “Doesn’t justify him being obnoxiously rude to me!”

Presently, Nico was in his usual spot by the window. He made a point of not looking at Will as he took his own seat -- not that he usually looked at Will anyway.

“Alright, everybody,” called Professor Chiron from his desk. “Midterms are next week, and I’ve decided on everybody doing presentations on a particular Canterbury tale. You’ll work in partners, which I have already assigned.”

A small, collective groan. The professor’s lips twitched, but he made no comment, instead naming the designated partners.

“Katie Gardner and Jake Mason...”

Will was struck with a sudden thought.  _What if I’m paired with_ Nico?

“Butch Walker and Clarisse La Rue...”

_There’s probably nothing to worry about. The chance of that happening is super small, right_?

“Drew Tanaka and Nyssa Barrera...”

Will crossed his fingers under his desk.

“Nico di Angelo and Will Solace...”

_Fuck_. Will chanced a peak at Nico, who didn’t even bother to look back at him.  _This should be just fantastic_.

“I’ll give you some time at the end of class to discuss your game plan with your partner.” Chiron said after he finished announcing everyone’s partners. “Moving on...” he continued as he wheeled over to the projector to begin his lecture, giving Will time to think about the horrible situation he now found himself in.

He kept flicking his eyes to Nico, but his classmate’s attention never wavered from Professor Chiron’s.

With five minutes remaining in the class, everyone paired up with their partners. Will moved to the desk next to Nico’s, who still wouldn’t look at him.

Exasperated, Will said dryly, “You know, this project will probably be a lot easier if you at least try to interact with me.”

That worked. Nico turned to Will, a defiant look in his eyes. The two simply stared angrily at each other for a moment, then Nico averted his gaze so he could write something down on a scrap of paper.

“This is my number,” he said as he handed it to Will. “Text me about when you can meet up.”

After that he stood up, grabbed his backpack, and left the room. Will sat for a second, thinking about how much had desperately hoped for Nico’s number for weeks, but now that he had it he didn’t even want it.

* * *

_I wish snow was alive so I could kill it_ , thought Will as he trudged over to Nico’s dorm building that Friday evening. The white fluff was easily six inches high by now, and the plows hadn’t been out yet, meaning Will had to plod through every inch of it.  _At least I remembered to wear my boots_.

When he finally reached the dorm building, he took a moment to shake off the excess snow that had accumulated on him before walking over to the elevator; Nico’s room was on the eight floor, and there was no way Will was gonna do all those stairs. Plus, he was already a bit late, and didn’t want Nico to be more upset with him than he already would be.

A short ride up the elevator later, Will walked down the deserted hallway towards Nico’s room. Most students were out doing something fun on Friday night, but Will had to stay in and actually do work. Whatever; the sooner they got their project done, the sooner they could go back to ignoring each other.

He knocked on the door, receiving an “it’s open” from inside. Opening the door, he saw Nico at his desk already starting to make a powerpoint on his computer.

“Pretty sure we’re supposed to make it together,” commented Will as shrugged off his backpack and started to remove his various winter gear.

“Well, you weren’t here when we agreed you’d be, so I figured I’d get started,” Nico quipped, not looking up from what he was doing.

Will glanced at the clock, which said 6:36. Rolling his eyes, he muttered, “Six minutes isn’t even that late.” 

He grabbed the chair from Nico’s roommate’s desk and dragged it over so he could sit next to Nico. He hadn’t done much yet, just set up the title and intro slides. His notes were open on the desk, and Will got his out as well.

“So,” Will said, breaking the silence. “We’re supposed to analyze The Wife of Bath’s Tale.”

Nico leaned back in his chair and looked at Will. “Do you have any thoughts on what we should do yet?”

Sighing, Will responded, “Not really. English isn’t really my strong suite, though I think we’ve established that already.”

Nico scoffed a bit at that comment, then leaned forward again and started typing some more. “Lucky for you, I’m an English major. I can get it done.”

Will wasn’t going to accept that. They were assigned to work on it together, so that’s what they were going to do, god dammit. “I’d like to understand it,” he said as shifted in his seat a bit so he faced Nico head on. “I know that it might take more time for you to teach it to me, but...” He trailed off and gave him a pleading look.

Nico seemed to recognize the olive branch for what it was, and his composure softened a bit. “Ok,” he stated rather quietly. “Let’s go over my notes first. Sound good?”

Will nodded, and the two delved into his notes, Nico explaining all the points of the story. Whenever Will interrupted with a question, he was patient and kind in his answers. After Will felt more comfortable with the material, they went back to the presentation, working together on what should be put on the slides and writing notes to go along with it. Surprisingly, they collaborated well together, and Will felt himself starting to fall for Nico all over again. He was determined and deliberate in what he did, and every now and then would say something witty that would catch Will off guard with a laugh; and every time their eyes met, Will could feel his heartbeat quicken.

_Shit_.

The whole feelings mess aside, the two became so enthralled in their project that when they finished and Will finally spared a glance at the clock he was shocked to see it read 11:29.

“I can’t believe we just spent five hours straight working on that!” he exclaimed. After looking at the time, Will felt exhausted as he realized how late it was and how long they had been working.

“But now it’s all done and we don’t have to worry about it over the weekend,” Nico replied as he stood up from his chair and stretched his arms over his head.

Averting his gaze so he wouldn’t stare (and possibly drool), Will looked out the window, and couldn’t help but yell, “Holy shit!”

Nico peered out as well; there had to be at least a foot of snow, probably more.  _I have to walk back through that_?

“They haven't even cleared the sidewalks,” Nico said quietly, more to himself than to Will. He then turned to him, saying, “You don’t have to walk back through that.”

Cocking his head, Will stated in an obvious tone, “Well, I do if I want to get back to my dorm.”

Nico ducked his head a bit (was he blushing?). “What I mean is, you can stay here tonight. My roommate went home for the weekend, you can sleep in his bed.”

Will was going to deny the offer, he really was, but another quick peak out the window eradicated that thought. “Sure, why not.”

Getting ready for bed was awkward to say the least. Nico lent Will an extra toothbrush, and after they had gotten back from the bathroom they turned around in order to change into their pajamas; Will didn’t ask Nico for sleeping clothes, figuring just his boxers would suffice.

They crawled under their respective covers and Nico turned out the light, but Will didn’t close his eyes right away. The darkness giving him courage, he whispered, “Nico?”

“Hmm?”

Will took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about what I said the other day. It was ignorant and stupid, and I didn’t mean to offend you.”

A pause, then Nico responded. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I wasn’t very nice about it either.”

“You’re actions were justified, though,” Will reassured. “I was the one who was being a jerk.”

“You kinda were,” said Nico; Will could hear the laughter behind his words.

“I just wanted to talk to you so badly,” confessed Will. “I should’ve thought more about what to say.”

“You wanted to talk to me?”

_Dang it_. “Uh-”

“I wanted to talk to you, too,” Nico interrupted in a whisper.

Will blinked, then felt a smile creep over his face. “Oh.” 

A moment of silence, then Will plucked up his courage and asked, “Want to get breakfast tomorrow? I promise I won’t insult you.”

“Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep,” came the reply. “But yeah, I’d like that.”

Smiling even wider, Will nestled himself more comfortably into his bed. “Cool. Goodnight, Nico.”

He heard a “Goodnight Will,” in response before he drifted off to sleep, dreams filled with a certain beautiful boy.

**Author's Note:**

> on tumblr at solangelo-stuffs


End file.
